Los Angeles, CA—The Los Angeles Police Department (L.A.P.D.), Crime Stoppers Los Angeles, and 8th District Councilmember Bernard Parks announced a $50,000 reward on Saturday, June 9 in South Los Angeles at the intersection of Van Ness and 65th Place. The reward is for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the driver involved in the March 18, 1989 hit-and-run killing of 3-year-oldD’Ancee Nathanial Barnes.

An emotional Councilmember Mike Gipson and his wife LeCresha participated in the press conference announcing the reopening of the unsolved case and along with family and friends pleaded for the driver to come forward. To help bring attention to the 23-year-old crime, donated billboards from Clear Channel Outdoor and CBS Outdoor will be erected near the intersection where the accident took place and on June 30 at 11:30 p.m. KCAL 9’s Crime Stoppers Case Files will air a re-enactment of the crime. After the press conference, volunteers and family members went door to door in the neighborhood passing out flyers with the reward information asking for help in finding the driver.

According to the L.A.P.D., at approximately 8:55 p.m. on March 18, 1989, a motorist in a 1974-1985 2-door white or light brown Cadillac travelling north on Van Ness Avenue towards Gage Avenue collided into three-year-old D’Ancee Barnes as he ran into the roadway. The motorist, described as being a 32-34 year old Black female with back hair, approximately 5’6” tall and weighing 110-120 pounds, stopped momentarily before continuing northbound on Van Ness Avenue. Barnes sustained severe injuries and was transported to a local hospital where he later died. The motorist was never identified.

The L.A.P.D. South Traffic Division is asking that anyone with information regarding this incident to please call Detective S. Smith or Investigator R. Mendoza at (323) 421-2500 or (877) LAPD-24-7.